Starsia honors pair of seniors

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — In the aftermath of his team’s double-overtime loss to Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament semifinals on Saturday, Virginia coach Dom Starsia became a tad emotional when asked about two of his seniors, Ben Rubeor and Bud Petit.

Each played their final college game.

Starsia, who was selected to the College Lacrosse Hall of Fame earlier in the day, said it’s the Rubeors and Petits of the world that keep him going.

After Petit allowed the game-winning goal in the second overtime, Starsia immediately sought him out.

“I just thanked Bud at the end for being a part of my life for the last five years,” Starsia said. “For him to come back for a fifth year after sitting for three years behind a classmate, and then to get beat out by a freshman [Adam Ghitelman] and to be supportive of that freshman…

“A month ago, I wasn’t sure we had the goods to be here. Bud was one of the guys who helped get us here.”

Petit, who finished with 16 saves, briefly quit the team a couple of years ago because he wasn’t playing. Suffice to say, the Midlothian native has come a long way since.

“I don’t mean to be melodramatic,” Starsia said, “but these kinds of stories are the compelling reason why I continue to do this.

“We’ve played so many overtime games. I’m getting too old for this, but guys like Bud keep you going. You’re afraid to walk away and not have those kinds of things be a part of your life anymore.”

It’s also those kinds of things that Petit treasures most. After Petit gave up the game-winner, several teammates rushed to console him.

“It’s a great feeling to know that 39 of your best friends are there to pick you up when you need them the most,” he said. “It’s just a testament to our team and our players and the character that we have on our team.

“You can’t always win every game, but after a tough loss like this I had my best friends to pick me up.”

Starsia goes way back with the Rubeor clan. He’s known Ben’s father, Bob, since the pair’s college days at Brown.

He said it didn’t take him very long to realize he had something special in Ben.

“[He was] just the kind of guy you want to be involved in your life for four years — a great student, a great person, a great lacrosse player, a tough kid,” Starsia said. “He doesn’t look like much physically but gives it to you every day. I don’t think you could ask for much more.”

Starsia just wishes Petit and Rubeor could have played one more game.

“You hate to have it end like this for these guys,” he said, “but we play these games and someone has to come up on the short end.”